Everybody Hurts
by literarylolita
Summary: They're not a fairytale, nor are they Romeo and Juliet. Tragedy strikes at Degrassi, and Eli and Clare must deal.


**A/N: Well, here is the 1****st**** chapter of a 5-6-chapter story based off of theories for Season 12C, both musiksnob's and mine. I hope you enjoy! Please review.**

**Twitter/Tumblr: LiteraryLolita**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. If I did, there would be no ecstasy shenanigans. **

**Thanks to musiksnob for helping me work out some…well, DETAILS of this chapter.**

"_If we miss the mark, if we hold on tight, we'll be there to try it again."-_Blink-182, "Pretty Little Girl"

"Eli, no, I'm not going to a Blink-182 concert," Clare giggles. Eli runs his hands up her sides, his breath warm tickling the back of her neck. Before his actions can cause him to get his way, she slams her locker door shut and spins around to face him. "Take Adam."

"Adam is going to see _Wicked _with Becky Baker tonight," Eli whines. "He never has time for me anymore." Clare laughs at the pout on Eli's face.

_Sometimes he can be such a little boy. _

"Maybe you could ask Jake?" Clare suggests hopefully. It's not that she doesn't want to go to the concert; she just has a lot of homework, and she likes to get it out of the way on Friday nights.

"No," Eli answers with a slightly stern tone to his voice. "I mean, he's cool and all," he says, backtracking, "it's just that I might be tempted to smoke weed again." He huffs. "Jake is literally ALWAYS high, Clare."

"Oh, I've finally figured that out," Clare responds with a roll of her eyes. She isn't exactly happy about her stepbrother's cannabis habits, nor is she particularly thrilled that he has yet to receive absolutely any form of discipline for them. "You could always say no, you know," Clare chastises.

"I know, Clare." Eli nervously runs a hand through his hair. "The thing is, I LIKED it." He takes a deep breath before continuing. "I liked it a lot, but I know it's not good for me." He pulls Clare into his arms and rests his chin on top of her curly hair. "So I'd rather not tempt fate."

Clare smiles. Ever since being caught shirtless in her room, Eli's been trying very hard to be more responsible; this is a venture Clare admires. He's still pouting, though, and before she can stop the words from escaping her mouth, she finds herself giving in. "Fine, I'll go. But you're so buying me ice cream after the show."

Eli's face lights up. "Deal!" His lips land on her forehead, softly pressing a kiss on her pale skin. She ignores the shivers the simple gesture sends through her every nerve and pushes him away.

"So um, I think I'll have to stay the night," Clare mumbles. They've never had a sleepover before, despite a few opportunities to do so. "There is no way my mother will let me stay out as late as we'll need to, even if it is Friday night."

Eli's grin widens. "You know I have absolutely no problem with you finally checking into Hotel Eli." He leans in for a kiss, stopping just short of her lips. "How long will your stay be, Mademoiselle?"

"Hmm. I think I'll check out Sunday morning, if that's okay with you." Clare blushes and thinks of spending all of Saturday half-naked doing homework in Eli's bed.

"Oh, it's more than okay." Eli leans in, and Clare recognizes his bedroom eyes from the recent month they've spent making love whenever they have the chance. On closing night of _Romeo and Jules _Clare and Eli had sex for the first time, and she doesn't regret it one bit.

She's _happy._

Teasing him with a smirk in place, Clare turns her head and walks away before his lips can reach hers. She throws a grin over her shoulder, satisfied with the frustrated look on Eli's face, and heads to class.

-X-

After her weekly Friday newspaper meeting and running home to grab her things, Clare skips up the steps to the Goldsworthy home. Her green and black overnight bag is slung over one shoulder, and her heart beats with anticipation of a fun night with Eli. Her blood boils when she thinks about Eli's bed, about how he presses his naked body against hers and they meld together like two puzzle pieces designed solely for one another, denting that bed with their actions.

She loves him more than she probably should.

She stopped caring about that when she decided she was all in.

"Clarabelle!" Bullfrog opens the door before Clare can knock. He pulls her into a hug so tight she can barely breathe. "Are you excited for the concert?"

Clare laughs. "I'm always happy to spend time with Eli."

"For God's sake, Bullfrog, let the girl in! It's cold out there!"

"Geeze, Cece, I was getting to it!" Bullfrog releases Clare from his grasp and moves aside. "Come in, kid."

"Hi Clare!" Cece bounds into the foyer and pulls Clare into a hug. Pulling away, she frowns at Clare's attire. "You're not wearing that to the show, are you?"

Clare furrows her brows and pulls on her purple blazer. "What's wrong with this?"

"Nothing, Sweetie, it's just…"

"Kids don't typically look so professional at concerts," Bullfrog finishes for his wife.

"I don't have anything else except for my clothes for tomorrow and pajamas." Clare blushes at her words; she knows that Cece and Bullfrog are okay with her sleeping over, but talking about it is still a bit mortifying.

"Clare!" Eli walks into the living room, and Clare breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of her boyfriend. She loves Cece and Bullfrog, but sometimes being around them makes her turn a shade of tomato red she'd rather not be.

"Hi, Eli." Clare makes her way to her boyfriend and allows him to pull her into a hug. He doesn't fully release her when the embrace ends, leaving one arm around her shoulders.

"We were just suggesting that maybe Clare should change for the concert," Cece says.

"What? Why?" Eli looks down at Clare with that love in his eyes she knows is solely for her. "She looks beautiful."

"She IS beautiful," Bullfrog admits, "but…she's in a BLAZER, kid."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Clare whispers to Eli.

"Well…" Eli smiles. "You might not be able to move much in what you have on. How about you change into one of my shirts?" He leans in close, whispering into Clare's ear in an effort to shield his parents from his words. "You have no idea how hot it would be for me to see you in my clothes."

Clare flushes at the thought of wearing one of Eli's band tees, of smelling like him.

She likes it.

"Okay," Clare relents.

-X-

"Shouldn't I be in a Blink-182 shirt?" Clare asks as she and Eli walk into the concert hand-in-hand. She tugs on his favorite Dead Hand shirt, which she must admit is pretty comfortable.

"Pft. Clare, everyone knows you don't wear the band tee for the band you're seeing."

"Um, apparently not everyone." Clare gestures at the gaggle of young girls, some in hand-made t-shirts with painted sayings such as "I LOVE TOM" and "MRS. HOPPUS."

"Ignore them, they're amateurs." Eli smiles. "Come on, this is going to be great. You don't fool me, Edwards, I know you like a lot of their music."

Clare grins. He's right.

She doesn't care much for the opening act of My Chemical Romance, though. Every so often throughout their set, she screams, "ALL THEIR SONGS ARE ABOUT DEATH" over the music. Eli rolls his eyes at her and squeezes her shoulder patiently.

When the stage turns over and Blink-182 is getting ready to come on, Clare can't resist the contagious excitement running through the air. "We're about to watch Blink-182. They're going to be RIGHT THERE." She points at the stage from their second-row seats; Bullfrog really hooked Eli up for his second-favorite band.

Laughter escapes Eli as he jumps up and down. "I know! I'm so glad you're here, Edwards."

"Me too." She kisses Eli, but before she can bravely and publicly deepen it, an excited voice of a certain bassist interrupts them.

"GOOD EVENING, ALL YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" The crowd goes wild as Mark, Tom, and Travis take the stage. They kick things off with "Carousel," and instantly Clare is jumping up and down with Eli.

The concert goes on, and Clare finds herself enjoying many songs and laughing at every dick and fart joke.

"It's time to get a little serious," Tom announces about halfway through the concert. "This is the first time we've played this song in years, so appreciate it, Toronto."

The opening notes sound sad, and Clare is immediately filled with a melancholy she can't quite describe.

_I never thought I'd die alone_

_I laughed the loudest, who'd have known_

_I traced the cord back to the wall_

_No wonder, it was never plugged in at all_

_I took my time, I hurried up_

_The choice was mine, I didn't think enough_

_I'm too depressed to go on_

_You'll be sorry when I'm gone_

Clare notices Eli's somber look that matches her sudden mood. "Eli…I don't remember this track on the mix you gave me of their songs."

"I didn't put it on." Eli coughs. "It's called 'Adam's Song'." His fingers find Clare's and interlace them together. "It's about a fan of theirs who committed suicide."

"Oh," Clare whispers. She tries hard not to think of Darcy, but says a silent prayer that Darcy didn't end up like the Adam in this titular song. Many of the crowd members are crying, and though it's difficult to know for sure, Clare's fairly certain all three members of the band are as well.

"Well, enough of that sad shit," Tom announces when the song is over. "How about a nice song about a blowjob or two?" The mood quickly lightens, and Clare's and Eli's beaming faces stay in place until the concert's end.

-X-

"That…was…awesome!" Clare is feeling a post-show high, something she's never experienced before. While they've been to coffeehouse, intimate concerts together, Eli and Clare have never had a date like this.

"You'd think I wouldn't have owed you ice cream, you had such a good time," Eli jokes.

"As my boyfriend, you always owe me ice cream," Clare quips back. She flops down on Eli's bed, and he soon joins her. "Wow, I'm sweaty."

"I know," Eli grins, "it's sexy."

"You're so gross." Clare hits him with a pillow.

"You like it."

"Maybe," Clare laughs. "I really liked that last song. Well, the one before the encore."

"Yes, a thing to know about Blink: they ALWAYS play Dammit as their encore." Eli starts humming the guitar part of the song.

"How many times have you seen them?" Clare asks.  
"Mmmm…this was the seventh time."

"SEVENTH?" Clare laughs. "You're lucky to be you."

"What do you mean?"

"You adore music and your dad works for a radio station through which he can often hook you up with concert tickets."

"Ah, true." Eli sheds his shirt. "Wow, that's better."

Clare tries not to smile, stare, or voice her agreement.

"So that last song, the one you liked?" Eli gets up and puts his iPod on its dock. Soon, the song in question starts wafting over Clare's ears. "It's called 'Pretty Little Girl.' It's off their new digital EP."

"I'll have to buy it on iTunes."

"Well, this song kind of makes me think of you." Eli crawls back on the bed and pulls Clare into his arms. "Of us."

Clare looks at him with raised eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"Well," Eli begins, "listen to the words. It's about young love that turns into real love."

Clare can't fight the warm feeling in her chest. Eli is basically telling her that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, and even though they're certainly still young, she believes their love has evolved from "young" to "real."

"I believe our love is real," Clare whispers. "I love you."

"I believe you believe that," Eli answers. "And I love you too. Also, your shirt is still on. You should take it off." He gestures to his naked torso. "All the cool kids are doing it."

Clare laughs and complies. Then she takes off Eli's pants, and he hers. Soon, they're both naked, and he's pressing his still sweaty body against hers in the way she loves so much. "Eli, I need you."

He puts on a condom before entering her, and while he starts out with gentle thrusts, Clare soon tires of that and spins them around so that she's on top. She rides him fast, and Eli's nails scratching down her back make her cry out his name. Slowing her thrusts, she begins to touch herself.

"Fuck, that's so hot," Eli pants. He massages her breasts roughly, and Clare leans down into his touch, eager for any friction that will help her achieve release. She can't believe how far she's come in the bedroom; she used to be so shy, timid, and awkward. Eli has made her feel so comfortable, though. Comfortable enough to touch herself during sex. Eli's hips quicken as they meet hers, and soon he's alternating between every swear word Clare's ever heard and her name as he pulses inside her. She's so close, though, so Eli pulls out of her, still shaking from his orgasm, and throws her on her back.

Eli uses his fingers on her, thrusting in and out like his cock just was, and damn, she is beginning to literally see the metaphorical stars Alli's always told her about. "Don't…don't stop…" Clare says in a loud whisper. It takes a little while, but soon Clare flexes around Eli's agile digits and cries out. "Eli! Oh, oh God…."

Lazily smirking, Eli crawls up to spoon Clare. He kisses her damp hair. "You're such a pretty little girl."

"Shut up, Eli." Clare is too busy enjoying her post-orgasmic bliss to give much thought to Eli's puns.

"Haha. This is nice."

_It really is, _Clare thinks.

"I have to go to the school tomorrow for a bit," Clare suddenly remembers. "I have to cover the first hockey practice since the NHL lockout."

"School on a Saturday?" Eli complains. "That sucks."

"It shouldn't take long," Clare assures. "You don't have to come along. You can stay in bed."

"And wait for you to join me?" Eli teases.

"Sure," Clare answers. She's getting braver and braver with Eli; she just did ride him, after all. A little dirty talk won't hurt.

"Nah, I'll come. While you're doing the interview, I'll get us breakfast."

"You're the best."

"I try."

Clare snuggles against Eli's naked body, and welcomes his arms holding her close.

_Someday, every night will be this wonderful, _she thinks before falling into the best sleep she's ever had.


End file.
